Filter



FILTER Filed Jan. 30, 1951 I 5a INVENTUR /6 4 9 H 7 WILLIAM B. LANDWIER.

28 I fnfD -Q ATTUHNEY Patented May 4, 1954 FILTER William G. Landwier, Fayetteville, N. Y., assignor to Easy Washing Machine Corporation, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application January 30, 1951, Serial No. 208,584

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to filters, and more particularly to a filter adapted for domestic laundry appliance use.

In laundry appliances, particularly for domestic use, it is desirable to protect the laundry from possible staining and like impurities in the domestic water supply by passing such water through a filter adapted to expose the impurities to materials which have an afinity therefor prior to permitting the water to come into contact with freshly laundered clothes, as in a rinsing process. Such a filter preferably provides for relatively free flow of the domestic water supply therethrough while affording ample opportunity for the foreign matter to assimilate with the filter material, so that the outflow will be free of'such impurities as might have a deleterious effect.

The present invention is directed to such a filter of relatively simple construction, and which may be safely used by users of domestic washing h machines, the filter being constructed in a relatively fool-proof manner and being so arranged as to permit the ready removal and replacement of suitable filter material therein. In filters of the type described, the filter material ordinarily is such as to permit a relatively free flow of water therethrough, but upon the accumulation of swari, the filter material may become blocked, creating a tendency for the water to bypass the filter material, thereby circumventing the object of the filter. The present invention is further directed to an arrangement in which the possibility of such bypassing is eliminated, the construction being such that no substantial care in' loading the filter is required to secure this result.

The above and other novel features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is expressly understood that the drawings are employed for purposes of illustration only and are not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure l is a side elevation of the filter mounted upon a panel of a washing machine;

Figure 2 is a top elevational view;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken substantially on line 44 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a filter casing comprising a pair of shell-like casing members which may be readily cast of any suitable material such as aluminum alloy, iron, high strength plastic, and the like. The inlet shell member Ill has a central shallow dome-shaped portion l2, an annular rim I4 and an inlet connection It. The shallow dome may be provided with a plurality of radial strengthening ribs such as it and 2H, and the annular rim is provided with a shoulder-like annular recess 22 for cooperating with a sealing ring 24. 23 is provided to assist opening the member.

The outlet shell 28 is provided with an annular rim 23, a tapered side wall 39 and bottom wall 32 forming a recess St for the reception of filter material. The bottom wall 32 has an outlet connection 33. The annular rim is has an annular shoulder recess 38 complemental to the recess 22, and adapted to cooperate with the sealing ring 2%. The tapered wall 25 projects into the inlet shell as at it to provide such annular seat 3d. The end wall 32 comprises an annular ridge #2 within which is a labyrinth of passages M bounded by lands 43, and as will appear in Figure 4, each of the grooves of the labyrinth 44 lead into the outlet connection 36.

The inlet shell I2 is adapted to carry a coil compression spring 48, one end of which is seated in a circular recess or area bounded by the inner ends or" the ribs l3 and 20. Certain of the ribs 'such as it are provided with projecting tongues provided with integral hinge lugs such as 51 and 53. The shells are held in closed position by such hinge and a pair of clamping screws and wing nuts 58 and 8B, respectively. The outlet shell is adapted to be mounted upon a panel such as 62 of a washing machine, such panel having an aperture 64 to receive the tapered wall 2t, which may be projected therethrough. The outlet shell is secured to such panel by threaded fastening means 65, as well as the screws 53, all of which are threaded into the flange 28 of the outlet shell member. The inlet shell member is notched as at 58 to receive each of the screws 58 and suitable seats l'il are provided so as to squarely receive the thrust of the thumb nuts 60.

wall and particularly the annular ridge 32 thereof. At the same time, the filter material will be A handle lug supported upon the lands 46 defining the labyrinth 44. Such filter material will be of sufficient coarseness to permit relatively free fiow of liquid therethrough, but at the same time, will be held sufliciently compacted by the pressure plate 52 so as to engage not only the tapered wall 30 but.

ployed, such disks will ordinarily be of. slightly.

larger diameter than the major diameter of the tapered wall 30. slightly clogged and the pressure drop through the filter material increases, the inlet pressure will tend to compact such disks against the tapered wall, thereby assuring against thepossibility of bypass. Additionally, any increase in pressure upon the inlet side of the filter material will increase the pressure of the filter material upon the annular ridge 42, further assuring against the possibility of bypass.

It will appear from a consideration of the construction described that the filter may be readily loaded by removing the thumb nuts 60 and opening the inlet shell, and that after loading, the inlet shell may be swung to a closed position, the wing nuts replaced and tightened, whereby such filter material is automatically placed under a slight initial compression by reason of the pressure plate 52 and the spring 48. By reason of the tapered wall, when it is desired to unload the filter, it will be found that such material may be readily removed, leaving the outlet chamber in a relatively clean condition and ready for reloading.

It will be seen that the filter may readily be formed essentially from two relatively simple castings with a minimum of machining, and that the general arrangement is such that the filter will adequately withstand the domestic water pressures without leakage, which pressures tend to build up as the filter material becomes clogged.

Although a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. As various changes in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, reference will be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A washing machine rinse water filter, comprising a pair of shell-like casing members form- Thus, as such disks become ing an inlet member and an outlet member, the

inlet member being of relatively shallow dome shape and having an inlet connection, a plurality of radial strengthening ribs on the internal surface of said dome shape member, said ribs extending centrally to a point short of the center to form a Circular seat for a coil spring, a coil spring and pressure plate assembly, one end of said coil springbeing positioned in said seat and the other having a perforate pressure plate secured thereto, certain of said ribs having inwardly extending fingers extending over said one end of said coil spring to secure the same in place, and the outlet member having a relatively deep filter material receiving recess bounded by. a tapered side wall tapered inwardly in the direction'of flow and a bottom outlet wall, a mass of fil'ter material 4 located in said recess, said outlet wall comprising a continuous annular integral upstanding ridge inwardly sp'acedfrom said side wall and an outlet labyrinth-centrally disposed within the area defined by said ridge, said outlet labyrinth comprising an outlet connection extending laterally from and lying in the plane of said labyrinth, and a series of deep grooves and intervening lands integral withsaid bottom wall, said grooves being connected'withisaid outlet, said lands and ridge supporting saidfilter material held thereagainst by said pressure plate, said inlet and outlet members each having relatively heavy annular rims, said; tapered side wall extending into the dome shape member and forming a flange along the inner edge of the rim of the outlet member, an annular seal ring recess in the inlet member rim facing said flange and outlet member rim, a seal ring lying in said seal ring recess and engaging said fiange and outlet member rim, and detachable means acting through said rims for securing said casing members together.

2. A washing machine rinse water filter, comprising a pair of shell-like casing members forming aninlet member and an outlet member, the inlet member being of relatively shallow dome shape and having an inlet connection, a coil spring and pressure plate assembly, one end of said coil spring being mounted upon the inside face of said inlet member andthe other having a perforate pressure plate secured thereto, and the outlet member having a relatively deep filter material receiving recess bounded by a tapered side wall tapered inwardly in the direction of flow and a bottom outlet wall, a mass of filter material located in said recess, said outlet wall comprising a continuous annular integral upstanding ridge inwardly spaced from said side wall and an outlet labyrinth centrally disposed within the area defined by said ridge, said outlet labyrinth comprising an outlet connection extending laterally from and lying in the plane of said labyrinth, and a, series of deep grooves and intervening lands integral with said bottom wall, said grooves being connected with said outlet, said lands and ridge supportingsaid filter material held thereagainst by said pressure plate, said inlet ancloutlet members each having relatively heavy annular rims, said tapered side wall extending into the dome shape memberand forming a flange along the inner edge of the rim of the outlet member, an annular seal ring recess in the inlet member rim facing said flange and outlet member rim, a seal ring lying in said seal ring recess and engaging said flange and outlet member rim, and detachable means acting through said rims for securing said casing members together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number .7 Y Name Date 183,599 Sinclaire Oct. 24, 1876 1,361,243 Fuson Dec. 7, 1920 1,475,577 Green Nov. 27, 1923 1,761,963 Babitch June 3, 1930 2,007,615 Ross July 9, 1935 2,023,423 Kleckner Dec. 10, 1935 2,190,305 Auberschek Feb. 13, 1940 2,400,719 Stackhouse May 21, 1946 2,522,904 Slepica Sept. 19, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number. Country Date 230,991 r Great Britain Mar. 26, 1925 

